Second Life Economy “Larger Than Some Countries”

Hard to understand how an interview with Second Life creator Philip Rosedale could be boring, but Toby Sterling at Associated Press asks questions that are (extremely) far from insightful.The Guardian, on the other hand, has a meaty article that notes:

“Second Life has more than 800,000 registered users, is growing at the extraordinary rate of 20% a month, and is developing an economy larger than those of some real countries”

Other key points:

Music is already big business in Second Life. On Monday, the Hedrons will become the first British band to do a virtual concert in Second Life. This follows the BBC, which has rented an island on the site for music festivals.
Clothing comprises 40% of all purchasable content, most of it branded goods familiar from the real world. Residents also buy and sell software they use online. One created a monorail to get around Second Life and then charged passengers for tickets. A Norwich man sells software that enables avatars to cuddle.”